Blue Smoke
by LawliPop
Summary: The last thing Yagami Light wanted for Christmas was an orphan. AU.
1. Prologue

_Lawli: I bring you another Death Note fanfic -- a completely AU one this time. Before I begin the fic, I have a small note on the characters' ages that you should pay attention to. All the main characters in this fic are Tweens. Yes, that's right, Tweens. Yagami Light is now 12, Yagami Sayu is 9, Amane Misa is 14, and dear little Lawliet is 13 (yes, I drastically reduced the age difference between L and Light; deal with it.)_

_I'd like to give a special thanks to SunMoonAndSpoon, because she is so awesome and she agreed to beta this story as well. I love you! 3_

_Some warnings: Child-Angst ahoy!_

_Pairing: Perhaps a one-sided, puppy-love crush (L+Light) in the future._

_Disclaimer: If I owned Death Note, CERTAIN CHARACTERS (-cough-Watari-cough-) wouldn't DIE. _

_... With all that aside, please read, enjoy, and don't forget to review!!_

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**Prologue**

The hospital room was painted white, just like all the others. The colorless walls did very little to calm the young boy who stood nervously in the doorway, peering inside with curious amber eyes. Everything was still, save for the rhythmic rising and falling of the patient's chest – which was connected by multiple wires to a heart monitor that rested in the farthest corner of the room; the sporadic lines across it revealed that all was well internally.

"Sayu..."

Yagami Light took another step inside, allowing the door to close softly and silently behind him. He stared intently at the bed, at the patient whose face was hidden by bandages – leaving only a tuft of bushy black hair visible.

The sight of the bandages was frightening. He'd known there would most likely be a need for them – Sayu had just undergone surgery, after all – but Light was confused by the fact that they were on her face; Sayu's surgery had been a limb lengthening.

"Sayu?" Light tried again, raising his voice slightly. He didn't want to wake his sister after what she'd just been through, but he was concerned about her... and the eerie silence of the room was starting to frighten him. Where were his mother and father?

The door cracked open, a nurse stepping inside. She glanced down at Light inquisitively before moving on to the task she'd come in to do. She jotted down something onto the clipboard in her hands – blood pressure and other such vitals, Light presumed.

"Are you a friend of his?" she asked suddenly, lowering the clipboard and fixing her eyes on Light.

Light blinked, confused.

_His?_

...Was this not his sister?

The nurse didn't seem to mind his silence. "It's nice to see someone spending time with him... You're the first one to visit," she informed with a sad smile.

Light directed his gaze back to the bed, his eyes wandering over the unconscious form of the patient he'd mistaken for his younger sibling. He felt embarrassed that he'd entered the wrong room, but he wasn't about to reveal his folly to the young woman beside him; that would be humiliating.

"How long has he been here?" he asked.

The nurse glanced at the chart she was carrying. "He was brought in on the twenty-eighth," she answered, and Light easily calculated that a total of six days had passed since then.

_Almost a whole week... and I'm the only one who's visited him?_

The realization caused a strong sensation of guilt to weigh down on his heart, and a wave of sadness washed over him as he realized that he himself wouldn't have even entered the room or given its occupant a second thought had he not believed that Sayu would be inside.

_Doesn't he have any friends? Any family? _

"What happened?"

Light could sense the nurse hesitate for a moment; he studied the way her green eyes shifted back and forth from him to the sleeping, bandage-faced child. Finally, she reached a decision and exhaled loudly, closing her eyes. "He was caught in a bad fire."

"Accidental?" Light interrupted, unable to stop himself.

As the Chief of Police's son, he was used to hearing all about the cases his father took on. The latest investigation concerned a series of supposedly accidental fires that, so far, destroyed five homes and left a total of three dead and seven critically wounded.

The nurse found this a strange question for a child to be asking, but nevertheless she answered him truthfully. "I have no idea."

Light fell silent, his amber eyes narrowing. Perhaps his father would mention another report on the case to him later that evening; until that happened, he supposed he should just forget about the boy.

And speaking of his father… His parents were probably wondering where he was.

"I have to go," Light said, more to himself than to the nurse. He bowed to her politely and made his way quickly to the door, where he paused with his hand on the knob in order to cast a last glance over his shoulder, at the boy he'd thought was Sayu. He left all feelings of pity behind him as he left, and the door closed just as silently as it had when he entered.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**  
_When I first saw him, I didn't know what to think._  
**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

"Yagami Light, where have you been?"

As soon as he stepped foot in the appropriate room, Light was immediately enveloped by his mother's arms. After embracing him tightly, Yagami Sachiko pulled away, a mix of anxiety and severity in her dark eyes. Light bowed his head, apologizing under his breath.

"Your father and I were worried sick about you!"

Again, Light apologized. "I got lost," he explained, flushing and feeling rather mortified as his mother hugged him tightly once again. In order to divert her attention, Light changed the subject to the sole reason they were in the hospital. "How is Sayu?"

That did the trick. Sachiko stepped away from her son and gestured to the bed where a young black-haired girl lay. Light strode forward, stopping before the gurney, and smiled at her.

Sayu, though she looked too exhausted to even close her eyes, returned the smile with one of her own.

"Brother, where have you been?" she asked, her voice adapting a tone of mock-anger.

"Sorry, Sayu," he said, not wanting to tell her that he'd ventured into a complete stranger's room and mistook that stranger – a male – to be his sister; somehow he figured that wouldn't settle too well with her.

Sayu forgave him easily enough.

The two siblings attempted a conversation, but Sayu was still too heavily medicated to speak one hundred percent clearly. After a nurse arrived to strengthen her dose of morphine, all hopes of having a discussion were lost, for in a matter of moments Sayu was snoozing peacefully.

For an hour or so, Light remained by Sayu's side, passing the time by flipping through television channels and listening to his parents convey their thoughts on Sayu's operation and what her recovery would entail. At four-fifty, a knock on the door announced the arrival of Light's escort home.

"Matsuda-kun will drive you home, Light. Your mother and I will remain here for a few more hours... but you need to get started on your homework."

Light frowned, looking over to the nervous wreck that was nineteen-year-old Matsuda Touta. Light never had much respect for the young man – he was too subordinate, too eager to please; really, he was more equivalent to a lapdog than a human being – and so he was not too keen on the idea of riding in the same car as him. If Matsuda was as much of a calamity on the road as he was off, it would be a miracle of they reached their destination in one piece.

But regardless of this, Light's father had ordered him to go with Matsuda, and he couldn't very well disobey his father.

Matsuda was beaming as he waved to Light and greeted him. "Come on, we can stop for ice cream on the way home if you like, Light-kun."

Irked by the fact that this buffoon – who probably had a lower IQ than him – had the audacity to call him by his first name, Light stared up at Matsuda coolly before brushing past him. "I hate sweet things," he answered tonelessly. He paused in the doorway, gave a curt bow to his parents, and then left, striding quickly down the hallway and waiting for Matsuda to come stumbling out behind him.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**  
_Should I feel bad for him -- pity him?_  
**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

The next evening found Light standing outside the door to room 213 – the room he entered accidentally the previous day. He didn't know what compelled him to go there, but for some reason his feet carried him automatically to the door, his conscience coaxing him to go inside. Perhaps he just felt guilty about the boy never having any visitors; or, maybe he was curious to learn more about the boy – if he was awake, Light could ask him about the fire.

After several moments of silent debate, Light decided he would go inside for a few moments. He had plenty of time to spend with Sayu later, and he really didn't plan on spending that much time with this boy anyways.

He was greeted by the same continuous beeping of the heart monitors and, just as in the previous day, the patient was asleep, his face still covered in bandages. Light tried to hide his disappointment, but couldn't stop the heavy sigh from escaping his lips.

The boy on the bed jerked. Light's eyebrows rose, his interest piqued. Experimentally, he sighed again – this time a little louder – and in response, the boy made a low humming noise and slowly blinked his eyes open.

"...Is someone... there?"

The voice was weak and strained, most likely due to not having been used for several days. Light could detect a hint of hopefulness laced into the words. Was the boy so desperate for a visitor?

The boy tried to turn his head to the side to look around the room, but stopped suddenly, emitting a sharp gasp followed by a pitiful whine; Light guessed that his injuries hadn't fully healed yet.

"Mama," he asked, "...is that you?"

Light's gaze fell to the ground; he didn't know what to say. He felt it would be wrong to leave the boy alone, but at the same time Light knew that he was no longer comfortable with the position he was in. It wasn't too late to leave unnoticed; he still had the door partially opened – he could slip out without the boy even knowing he was there to begin with.

"... Is anyone there?"

The voice had fallen to a dull whisper, a sign that all hope had now been exhausted.

Light took several steps back, out the door. He stood in the arch, still staring, shaking his head. "No," he answered, just as softly, before closing the door behind him.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**  
_Or should I just... not care?_  
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**To be continued**

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_Lawli: What do you think? Good? Bad? So-so? Please tell me your thoughts! Reviews and constructive criticism are always very much appreciated!_


	2. Chapter 1

_Lawli: Due to a recent obsession with his character, I couldn't resist adding Beyond Birthday to this chapter. His role is very, very minor, but he's present nonetheless. He's 10 years old, and is referred to as Ryuuzaki (which, for those of you who have not yet read or heard about Death Note: Another Note is his personal alias). _

_Another note (...no pun intended.. hehe..), this chapter has yet to be thoroughly edited. But I'm posting it anyways because I'm so effing excited about the chapter. As soon as I hear back from my lovely, wonderful beta I'll post up the edited version. For now, please forgive any spelling or grammar errors that you may come across (or point them out to me so I can fix them ahead of time)!_

_And one last thing..._

_"Text" is spoken in Japanese.  
__"**Text**" is spoken in English._

_And with all of that said... please read and review!_

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**Chapter One**

"_Round the ring of roses  
__Pots full of posies,  
__The one stoops the last  
__Shall tell whom she loves the best_!"

The group of children all fell backwards in unison, erupting into a fit of giggles as they did so. The last to touch the ground was a small black-haired boy. The rest of the children pointed and urged him to spill the secret of who he had a crush on; he blushed and looked away shyly, his dark eyes not daring to catch the gaze of any of his friends.

"Ryuuzaki has a girlfriend! Ryuuzaki has a girlfriend!"

Ryuuzaki's cheeks darkened in further embarrassment and he shook his head furiously at the notion. "No I don't!"

"Well then, do you like someone."

"Maybe..."

"What's her name?"

Ryuuzaki glanced shyly around the room, apparently searching for someone in particular. He'd lost the game, and so was obligated to reveal his secret crush to the rest of the children he was playing with; if he didn't, he'd be laughed at and called a chicken – too afraid to tell his friends the name of the person he liked.

His eyes lit up when he saw him. He was sitting in the farthest corner in the room, like always, with his nose buried in a book far too advanced for any of the other children to comprehend. The corner was dark, but he could still make out his face – his wide gray eyes, his round cheeks, and most importantly the scar that marred the entire left side of his face.

Seeming to catch on to who he was staring at, one of the other children – another young boy – made a face and scoffed. "Lawliet?"

Ryuuzaki stared down at his feet, wriggling his toes in order to distract himself from the howls of laughter from his friends.

"Ryuuzaki likes a _boy!_"

Curling his hands into his fists, Ryuuzaki glared down at his friend. "Shut up, A!"

A's lips twitched and he stood to stare at Ryuuzaki face-to-face. "Why don't you see if he likes you back?" he challenged. "Go talk to him."

Ryuuzaki hesitated, his eyes darting from his friend to the lonely boy in the corner of the room. Talk to Lawliet? No one talked to Lawliet... and if they tried to, they were usually ignored; the only one ever to successfully communicate with him was the founder of the orphanage, Quillsh Wammy, and he only visited the Kanto House once a month, at most.

It had been almost four months since Lawliet first arrived at the Wammy's House – he'd been brought in after spending a couple of weeks in the hospital. Apparently, he'd been vacationing in Japan with his family when the house they were staying at was set aflame; he'd been the only survivor, and the police had been unable to compile enough information about him to learn if he had any other living relatives.

Throughout his entire stay at Wammy's House so far, Ryuuzaki had hardly heard the boy utter more than two words at a time. Most of the other children had already given up trying to befriend him; if his silence didn't throw them off, then certainly the frightening burn mark on the left side of his face did – even Ryuuzaki, who was by far more intrigued by Lawliet than anyone else, was intimidated by it.

But today he would overcome his fear. He would talk to Lawliet – get him away from those books and make him join the other children. At least, he would try.

Lawliet didn't look up as he approached. His wide eyes flitted across the page, reading line after line of the complex book. Ryuuzaki hadn't caught the title of it, but judging by the fact that it was written in an entirely different language – French, it looked like – he guessed it was something way beyond his own reading level.

"What are you doing?" Ryuuzaki asked, staring down at him.

When Lawliet made no move to respond, Ryuuzaki sighed. He could hear A and the others laughing several feet away and his eyes narrowed slightly. He didn't like being ignored, especially after summoning the courage to speak to Lawliet in the first place. "Lawliet?" he tried again, lowering himself into a crouching position that mirrored that of the other boy.

Lawliet still didn't look at him, but Ryuuzaki could tell he was no longer submerged in the text before him. Taking that as a good sign, Ryuuzaki decided to try a third time and see if he could get a proper reaction.

"I'm reading," came the soft response, and Ryuuzaki allowed himself a moment to feel proud, because he'd actually gotten Lawliet to speak to him. "Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to play with me and my friends," Ryuuzaki offered, feeling much more confident in himself now.

Lawliet's charcoal eyes swiveled upwards, locking with Ryuuzaki's reddish-brown eyes and holding them for a moment before looking elsewhere, quickly losing interest. He brought a hand to his face, sliding his thumb into his mouth and sucking on it thoughtfully. Ryuuzaki frowned at his silence.

"Oi, Ryuuzaki! I said talk to him, not invite him over," A called from across the room. "The rest of us don't have a crush on him; we don't want him over here!"

Ryuuzaki's cheeks reddened and for a moment it looked as if he wanted to argue, but didn't dare risk saying something that would upset his good friend. Shoulders slumping in defeat, Ryuuzaki spared one last glance in Lawliet's direction before walking away to rejoin the group of giggling children.

In a matter of minutes, they were all up again, walking around in a slow circle with tightly clasped hands, chanting the words to the old nursery rhyme and wondering who would be the next to spill the name of their secret love.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**  
_I don't think he ever talked to anyone._  
**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

He'd always had a difficult time getting along with other children. Even before the fire... even before his face was burned so terribly, he'd been viewed as an outcast – a foreigner, a freak who did not belong in a society that demanded perfection. That was why it no longer bothered him to hear that he wasn't wanted.

There were only a few people in his life that had ever tried to get along with him – two being his parents, and they were dead now, another being Quillsh Wammy, and the fourth the young boy Ryuuzaki. Lawliet kept his distance from both of them, not wanting to get too attached. He was only thirteen, but already he knew how fragile and short human life really was. It could be exterminated so easily – with the flick of a wrist, strike of a match... There was too much pain in caring; if he distanced himself, he'd have no reason to feel sad.

If he had no one to lose, he had nothing to feel bad about – nothing to cry over.

Setting the heavy textbook aside and uncurling himself from his squatting position on the floor, Lawliet stood up to walk out of the room. The noise and laughter of the other children was beginning to give him a headache.

He paused as he reached the door, hearing voices on the other side. One of them he instantly recognized as that of the orphanage's director, Roger. The other voice was unfamiliar – female, by the sounds of it, and around middle-aged. While he was not yet completely fluent in Japanese, what he did know was enough to aid him in figuring out the subject of the discussion going on between the two adults.

Having only lived in the orphanage for a few months, Lawliet was unfamiliar with the '_Home for the Holidays'_ program that the Wammy's House sponsored. All he knew was that it was an annual thing, and an exciting and popular topic among the other orphans. From the title alone, it was easy to discern what the program did; but Lawliet wasn't exactly certain how it worked.

"This is the children's recreation time. Most of the younger boys and girls play in this room, whereas the older children prefer it outside or in the computer room," Roger was saying.

Lawliet took a step back from the door as he noticed the knob begin to turn. Charcoal eyes flickered upwards to meet the faces of the two outside.

"Lawliet," Roger said in a disapproving tone, "what have I told you about eavesdropping?"

Lawliet hung his head apologetically. In English, his native language, he quietly explained that he hadn't intended to listen in. "**I was on my way out when I heard voices**."

Roger, an easily forgiving man, nodded his head in acceptance of the excuse. He decided to respond in English as well, knowing it was easiest for Lawliet to maintain a conversation when it was spoken in the language he understood best. "**Well, would you mind staying put for a while longer? I was actually coming in to talk to you**." He switched back to Japanese so the woman could grasp what he was saying as well. "Please follow me."

They began to walk down the hall in the direction of Roger's office.

Pointing a finger at himself as he followed, Lawliet blinked curiously. "**What did I do**?" He was too quiet to cause any sort of trouble in the orphanage, so he could hardly imagine that Roger came to scold him.

Roger chuckled. "**Don't worry, boy, you haven't done anything wrong**." They stopped in front of a tall oak door. "**Actually, I have something very exciting to tell you**."

Lawliet thought back on the bit of conversation he'd heard as he entered behind Roger and the woman.

"_Home for the Holidays program... a boy around twelve or thirteen; I have a son that age. I saw some of the files..."_

"Lawliet, this is Yagami Sachiko-san," Roger said, gesturing to the woman beside him.

Lawliet took in her appearance. Middle-aged, just as he'd expected; she was plump and had a round face with a kind smile. Lawliet decided that if Mrs. Claus was real, she would probably look something similar to Yagami Sachiko-san – only with white hair.

In order to come across as polite, Lawliet gave a small bow to her before straightening himself to the best of his ability – there was still a prominent hunch in his back, which he was positive the woman took instant notice of.

If she thought anything ill of his appearance, she didn't say anything to indicate so. Instead, she smiled at him. "It's very nice to meet you, Lawliet-kun," she greeted him. "I do hope we'll get along."

"You'll be staying with Yagami Sachiko-san for the holidays," Roger informed, as if Lawliet hadn't already figured it out for himself.

Lawliet continued to scrutinize her, evaluating whether or not her could trust her. She seemed nice enough, and if Roger was willing to let him stay at her home for an entire month than Lawliet doubted that she could be a threat to him. Still, after his parents' deaths – _murders_, he corrected himself – Lawliet had found it difficult to blindly put his faith in anyone. No one was inherently good; people were evil, and wouldn't hesitate to hurt one another if given the means and opportunity to do so.

Keeping up with his polite act, Lawliet bowed once again to her, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't exactly grateful, so he wouldn't lie and say he was. Yagami Sachiko was not his mother, and the Yagami family was not his family; staying with them for the holidays would hardly erase the pain of having to spend his first Christmas alone.

Yagami Sachiko continued to smile at him and Lawliet had to look away.

_To every bright side there is a dark side. _

Lawliet was told to go and start packing any belongings he wanted to take with him and dismissed from the room so the adults could talk in private.

"Lawliet can be difficult to handle sometimes," Lawliet heard Roger say as he was closing the door.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**  
..._Always just sat alone in the corner, reading._  
**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

Yagami Sachiko held the door open to allow Lawliet to enter the house before her. The boy looked hesitant, peering into the foyer and making sure the path was clear before slowly making his way inside. He stopped to remove his shoes and place them neatly on the rack before turning his head upwards and awaiting instruction.

Sachiko offered him another smile and reached down to unwind the cream-colored scarf from around his neck. "You must be boiling in all that. Let me help you."

Lawliet's hands immediately flew upwards to stop her from doing so. He gripped the material tightly in his small fists, his eyes pleading, until Sachiko relented and let go. Satisfied, Lawliet readjusted the scarf to his liking – pulling it up so it once again concealed the scars along his jaw and side of his face and upper neck.

Finding Lawliet's self-consciousness both saddening and endearing, Sachiko allowed him to remain in his winter coat and scarf. The poor boy was probably scared out of his mind, having to stay in an unfamiliar house with a strange woman he'd just met.

After removing her own outerwear and setting it in the appropriate closet, Sachiko turned back to Lawliet, who was busy examining a family portrait hanging on the opposite wall. A look of pride appeared on her face as she thought of her family – her caring husband, brilliant and handsome son, and beautiful loving daughter; they meant the world to her.

Raising a hand, Sachiko indicated each member of the family. She hadn't an idea about how much Japanese the boy knew – according to Roger, he was born in England and raised in America – but she hoped he knew enough to at least understand what she was saying.

"This is my husband. He's very nice, I think you'll like him." She moved her hand downwards and continued "This is my daughter Sayu, she's nine years old. Don't be surprised if she asks you to play princess with her." Her hand moved to the left, indicating the final member of the family. "And this is my son, Light. He's a year younger than you and very smart for his age – at the top of his class, in fact!"

She turned to face Lawliet, smiling again. "You know, Roger told me that you're also very smart." Though his face was obscured by the scarf, Sachiko could detect a slight pinkish hue coloring his cheeks. "I can't wait to introduce the two of you – I'm sure you'll get along wonderfully. He and Sayu will be home from school in a few hours."

She didn't expect Lawliet to say anything, and so was not fazed when he remained silent. Knowing that she would have to be the one to keep this one-way conversation alive, Sachiko placed a gentle hand on Lawliet's shoulder and steered him away from the portrait. "Let me show you around the house."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**  
_Would he ever open up?  
_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

**To be continued.**

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**

_Lawli: I love young L. Really, I do. _

_Please tell me your thoughts on the chapter! Reviews and contstructive criticism are always welcome and appreciated!_


	3. Chapter 2

_Lawli: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! This chapter has yet to be thoroughly edited, but as soon as I get the edited chapter back from my beta I'll be posting it. For now, please forgive and spelling or grammar errors that you may come across - or point them out to me so I can correct them!_

_I think some people might have been confused by my adding Ryuuzaki to the last chapter. In the Death Note book Another Note, there is a character named Beyond Birthday who dresses/looks like and acts like L (but is a villain); he goes by the alias of Ryuuzaki (or Luxaky, I've also seen it spelled). So Ryuuzaki is Beyond Birthday, not Lawliet. They're two different people. Hope that clears that up for some of you! _

_After this chapter, this story most likely will not be updated until next month because I'm desperately trying to finish writing **Dancing in the Dark** before the end of November. Sorry!_

_Don't forget...  
"Text" is spoken in Japanese.  
"**Text**" is spoken in English._

_And that's all for notes! Please enjoy the chapter and please leave some feedback when you're through reading, it really would mean a lot to me.

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_

**Chapter Two**

Light knew something was different the moment he set foot inside the house. The smell of freshly-baked cookies permeated the air, reaching his nose the second he pushed open the door, which first alerted him to the fact that something was amiss. His mother never baked this early in the month; she always waited until the week before Christmas. The sound of his mother's voice echoed from the kitchen – his mother never talked to herself, and Light found it hard to imagine that she would suddenly pick up on the habit now.

He noticed the boots after a quick sweep of the foyer. A dirty pair of boots, caked with slush and several sizes too small to belong to his mother or even to himself. Lips twitching downwards in a thoughtful frown, Light proceeded to enter the house, carelessly releasing his grip on the door and allowing it to close by itself.

"Ouch! Brother, watch what you're doing," Sayu complained from behind him, disgruntled about almost having the door slammed in her face – especially since Light was usually such a gentleman and held it open for her. Luckily, her crutches had caught against the doorframe in time to keep it from closing all the way.

Light apologized quickly and pulled the door back open so that Sayu could hobble inside. She cast him an annoyed but grateful smile and then proceeded to kick off the shoe that adorned her good foot. At that moment, she too noticed the extra pair of boots on the rack.

"Huh? Company?" she wondered aloud, glancing around the foyer as if a stranger would suddenly appear out of thin air.

"...think Light and Sayu are home," their mother's voice trickled from the kitchen. "Oh, don't look so shy," she said before calling for her children.

Light and Sayu exchanged curious looks before making their way into the kitchen. As they passed under the archway, they noticed their mother standing before the stove, transferring freshly baked cookies from the pan onto a decorative platter.

"Welcome home," Sachiko greeted with a warm smile, turning away from the oven to face her children. Both Sayu and Light made to return the greeting, but the words died in their throats as another figure poked his head out from behind Sachiko, who chuckled and then stepped aside, revealing the boy entirely.

He was weird. That was the first thought that popped into Light's mind as he gave the boy a quick once over. The first thing that stuck out about the boy was his posture. If standing upright, Light guessed that he would probably be about as tall as himself – maybe a fraction of an inch shorter, if one actually took the time to measure – but as it was, the boy stood hunched over, his back arched in a way that made him resemble a monkey more so than a human being; if they stood side-by-side the boy's head would probably just reach Light's chin.

The next thing Light found strange was that half of the boy's face was concealed by a thick, cream-colored scarf (why was he even wearing that – and his coat, too? Didn't he realize that he was _inside_?) The half that wasn't was almost deathly pale, and Light had to wonder if he had some kind of illness. His eyes were wide and hollow, partially concealed by the coarse black bangs that hung in front of them. Light shivered involuntarily as they locked on him and fought the urge to take a step back.

"Light, Sayu," Sachiko said, drawing their attention to her once more, "this is Lawliet-kun. He'll be staying with us for the holidays."

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**_There is nothing I can say about him.  
_**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -**

After introducing them, Sachiko sent Lawliet out of the room, telling him to go and start unpacking his belongings and that she would join him shortly. Without a word, Lawliet exited, leaving Sachiko alone in the kitchen with her children.

Sayu spoke first, in a high-pitched voice brimming with excitement. "Who is that boy, mama? Why is he staying here?"

Sachiko smiled at her, wondering how to best explain the situation to her daughter. Sayu was so young; would she even be able to understand?

"Well, Sayu, there are some children in the world who don't have loving families to spend the holidays with. Unfortunately, Lawliet is one of these children."

Sayu frowned. "He doesn't have a family?"

"Not anymore. His parents both passed away earlier this year." Sachiko couldn't bring herself to say that the police suspected Lawliet's parents had been murdered – she didn't even like thinking about that possibility, though the world was rotten enough to make her believe it. "So, I've decided to let him stay with us, in hopes of making his Christmas a little bit brighter. I know we can't replace his family, but... well, I'm hoping that we can be his friends."

Sayu grinned and raised one of her hands enthusiastically. "I'll be his friend! And Light, too – right, big brother?" She looked over to him for an affirmation.

Light, who had been staring at the doorframe from whence Lawliet took his leave, blinked as he was suddenly addressed. "What did you say?" he asked, having missed a majority of the conversation while lost in his thoughts.

Sayu giggled, seeing it as a small victory that she was able to catch her brother not paying attention. "We're gonna be Lawliet's friends, right?"

Light's mind drifted back to the strange boy. Under any other circumstances, Light wouldn't even approach Lawliet. There was just something about him that sent chills down his spine, and Light didn't like it, didn't like the unnerving void of Lawliet's beetle-black eyes.

"Oh... yes, of course," he said, smiling pleasantly, never one to give an answer unless he knew it would be well-received.

Sachiko gave him a look of appreciation. "I'm counting on you especially, Light. He needs a companion right now. I can tell he's hurting badly... having a friend in this time of need will help him greatly."

Light nodded his head. "I know," he agreed. "Don't worry, mom. I'm sure we'll get along."

"He may not be very willing right now, but give him some time. I'm sure he'll get over his shyness."

Sayu looked anxiously towards the stairwell. "Mama, can I go help him unpack?" she pleaded.

"No you may not. You, missy, have to start on your homework. There's a whole two weeks before Christmas break. I don't want your grades slipping because we have a guest in the house. That goes for you as well, Light." She glanced pointedly at her son, though she knew it wasn't necessary – Light always excelled in school.

Light nodded in understanding, glad to use homework as an excuse to avoid Lawliet, while his younger sibling whined about how unfair their mother was being.

"But mama! I have all night to do my homework! I want to get to know Lawliet..."

"Homework comes first, young lady. Now, off to your rooms, both of you. The sooner you get your work done, the sooner you can spend time with Lawliet."

Sayu pouted but eventually gave in, knowing that she couldn't go against her mother's wishes. She stared out of the room and Light made to follow her, only to be stopped by his mother's hand on his shoulder.

"I hope you don't mind, but Lawliet is going to be staying in your room while he's here."

Light's eyes widened a fraction. _His_ room? That would be so awkward... he didn't want to be anywhere near that weirdo! But he should have known; it wouldn't be proper for Lawliet to sleep in Sayu's bedroom, and there was no way Sachiko would make him sleep on the couch (even if it was a pull-out). Swallowing his annoyance, Light gave a curt nod and hoped that his eyes didn't give away his true feelings about the circumstances.

"Our unpacking his suitcase won't be too distracting, will it? I want you completely focused when you do your work."

Light smiled to qualm her fears. "It's fine, don't worry, mom. I don't mind at all."

Sachiko, not for the first time, felt blessed to have such a selfless boy. Together, they left the kitchen. Sayu was steadily making her way up the stairs, gripping onto the railing and moving at a snail's pace, trying to keep as much pressure off of her left foot as possible. Light and Sachiko stayed behind her, forming a barrier that could catch her should she loose her balance.

Eventually the three reached the top of the staircase. Sachiko helped Sayu into her room (as she'd left her crutches downstairs) while Light continued to the end of the hallway to his own bedroom.

Lawliet was sitting (could it even be called that?) in the farthest corner of the room next to the small bureau with his knees drawn up to his chest. The thick wool coat he wore had parted due to his crouch and Light could see the faded material of worn blue jeans covering his legs. He looked up as Light entered the room, the unblinking charcoal eyes swiveling in the direction of the door, locking on the form of the young boy. Light stared back at him for a moment, frozen, before moving forward.

Part of him wanted to just ignore Lawliet's presence and start on his homework – as his mother said, homework was more important – but, at the same time, something inside of Light wouldn't let him pass by a person in need of assistance (no matter weird they were or how badly he wanted to dismiss them). He truly didn't want to help Lawliet unpack, but he was too polite not to ask.

"Hey," Light greeted unsurely, his feet coming to a halt as he reached Lawliet's side. Lawliet continued to stare, doing nothing more to acknowledge him. "Um... do you need some help?"

Lawliet seemed to consider the offer, narrowing his eyes very slightly and bringing a hand to his lips. He sucked on his thumb and Light began to feel uncomfortable under the long stretch of silence.

Finally, after Light had begun to think that Lawliet was merely choosing not to dignify him with a response, Lawliet shook his head, a simple 'no'.

For some reason, it bothered him that Lawliet didn't accept his help. He had no true desire to help the boy, true, but it hadn't been only assistance in unpacking that he had offered; there was also the tentative offer of brief company. No one had ever refused Light's company. He was generally popular and well-liked.

...What, did Lawliet think he was too good for Lights was that why he didn't speak to him?

_He's just a stupid orphan... there's no way he can think he's better than me._

Light huffed and turned away from him, situating himself at his desk. He was well aware of those eyes continuing to bore holes into his back as he started on his math assignment. Light tried not to let it get to him, but the prickling sensation of having every movement observed became irritating very quickly.

After several minutes passed and Lawliet refused to direct his attention elsewhere, Light slammed his pencil on his desk. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lawliet jump from the suddenness of the action and lose his balance, falling backwards onto his rear end.

"Why do you keep staring at me?" Light demanded to know, not bothering to spare a glance in the boy's direction.

Lawliet repositioned himself, taking his time in doing so. "Light-kun is angry," he stated the obvious, thumb returning to his mouth.

Light bristled at the usage of his first name. Who did this kid think he was? They were not familiar with one another. "Don't call me by my first name – you don't know me."

Lawliet's gaze fell. He wriggled his toes. "**I apologize. I am still not very familiar with Japanese customs**."

Light had forgotten that Lawliet was a foreigner. From America, was it? That explained the lack of manners...

"**Yeah, well... now's the chance for you to learn**," he said, not really knowing what else to say.

"**Will Yagami-kun be my teacher**?"

Light raised an eyebrow. Lawliet didn't want his help unpack, yet expected him to be his tutor in Japanese etiquette? Light shook his head. "**I'm busy**" – he gestured to his math textbook – "**have my mom help you, or ask Sayu. Though I doubt Sayu will know much of what you're saying if you only speak English**."

"I know some Japanese," Lawliet informed him matter-of-factly, switching languages to prove it. "Mama taught me."

Lawliet's eyes suddenly widened as if he just realized something. Light watched as his figure began to curl in on itself, the hunch in his back becoming even more pronounced as he touched his head to his knees and wrapped his lanky arms around his legs. He was saying something, but due to the scarf wound around the bottom half of his face, Light was unable to make out what it was.

Light stared openly, unsure of what to do.

(He had seen the crestfallen look on Lawliet's face before the boy hid his face away. Was he _crying_?)

Luckily, his mother chose that moment to enter the room. As soon as she spotted Lawliet's fetal position on the other side of the room, she gasped and rushed over to him, fearing for the worst. Kneeling on the floor beside him, she whispered his name, hoping to catch his attention but to no avail. Lifting her head, she sought out her son's face and gave him a fierce look.

"Did you say something to him?" she questioned. "Were you rude?"

Light felt a sharp pang in his chest, brought on by the fact that his mother thought this was his fault. He hadn't done anything wrong! Why was his mother being so protective of Lawliet? It wasn't as if he was _her_ son...

"I didn't do anything," he swore, cheeks reddening in restrained anger. He felt strangely betrayed, seeing his mother kneeling beside Lawliet, holding a hand to his shoulder comfortingly. "He said his mom taught him some Japanese, then he got all weird."

At the mention of the word 'mom', Lawliet's body quivered. Sachiko gave a sympathetic sigh and reached out to him, wrapping her arms around his narrow shoulders.

"There, there. It's okay. I'm here for you."

Lawliet wiped at his eyes and tried to pull away from the woman, not wanting her pity or kind embraces.

"It's okay to be sad, Lawliet-kun," Sachiko told him, smiling gently.

Lawliet didn't look at her, only stared at the floor intently.

Taking the hint that this subject was not one he wanted to discuss, Sachiko quickly dropped it and moved away from the boy, fixing her gaze on his small suitcase. "Let me help you with this."

Lawliet didn't decline the offer, as he had Light's. He sat beside the woman, watching as she transferred his clothing from the bag to the bottom drawer of the bureau.

At his desk, Light continued to stare, perturbed by what he had just witnessed.

**- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
**_He's too strange for words.  
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**To be continued.

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_Lawli: Yay, Light and L have officially been introduced! _

_Please tell me your thoughts on the chapter! Reviews and constructive criticism are always welcome and appreciated!_


	4. Chapter 3

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Lawli: I am now freed from the accursed Nano (not that I really got far with that in the first place... I should have known better than to even try) I can now return to a more regular updating schedule! I would have posted this chapter sooner, but I was at an anime convention this past weekend - I cosplayed as Near and as Chibi!Light.. it was such a blast, I have pics from it up on DeviantART if anyone cares to look XD -- so I hope the wait makes the chapter that much more enjoyable? _

Thanks as always to my amazing, wonderful beta, SunMoonAndSpoon!! 

_Don't forget...  
"**text**" is spoken in English.  
"text" is spoken in Japanese._

_Enjoy the chapter!_

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Chapter Three. 

It was the worst night of his life. Not only was Light forced to share his room (his bed) with a virtual stranger, but it had to be a stranger who failed to sleep for longer than half an hour at a time. During the periods when he was awake (which accounted for more than half the night) Lawliet tossed and turned fretfully, attempting to position himself comfortably on the mattress. Even the rare instances when he fell asleep were not peaceful, for Light could still hear him breathing erratically,whimpering and clawing at the bed sheets.

Light guessed Lawliet was plagued with nightmares; his parents were dead, after all – there were probably a multitude of horrible thoughts that invaded his dreams. But Light didn't once try to comfort him, even when he felt Lawliet wake with a small, pitifully choked sob. He didn't know what he could say to someone as strange as Lawliet, and he was too irritated about losing so much sleep because of Lawliet's restlessness to even bother trying to think of anything.

Instead, he would remain silent, keeping his back to the other boy and trying to will himself to sleep.

Lawliet was also a blanket hog.

Normally, Light ended up kicking the blankets off of himself during the course of the night. As soon as he discovered Lawliet's habit of cocooning himself in the spare comforter, however, he refused to lose even an inch of his half of the blanket – a resolution that served as the cause for several sleepy tug-of-wars between the two young boys.

It was a long night, and Light was certain that he could count the hours of sleep he'd gotten on only one hand. Still, even though he felt too exhausted to move come the following morning, he was the first to rise from the bed after hearing Sayu bang enthusiastically on the door and declare that he needed to get ready for school.

Lawliet stayed burrowed in the covers, his face barely visible from underneath the heap of stolen blankets. Light was surprised to see the scarf still loosely wound around the boy's neck. How had he not suffocated with that thing on all night?

"**Light-kun is going to school today**?"

Light tugged his long-sleeved pajama topoff over his head, setting it on the back of his desk chair to fold afterwards. "**Yes... and don't call me that**!"

Lawliet sat up very slightly and apologized under his breath. Light glancedat him tiredly as he slid his arms into a fresh white button-up.

"**It's okay, I guess**..." he mumbled after a moment of silence. Lawliet didn't know any better, Light reminded himself, as he was not raised in Japan. In America, everyone called each other by their first names. "**Just try to remember**."

Lawliet nodded. "**I will try**."

Light removed a clean pair of dark blue pants from the closet, grabbing some boxer shorts out of the correct drawer as well. When he faced the bed again he found Lawliet still sitting there, staring. He frowned and cleared his throat, which sufficiently caught Lawliet's attention.

"Yagami-kun?"

Light made a whirling motion with his hand, wordlessly requesting that Lawliet turn around so that he could remove his pants. The action seemed lost on the other boy, though, and Light gave an exasperated sigh.

"**Turn around, I'm changing... it's very rude to stare**."

"**I apologize, Yagami-kun**."

Lawliet did as instructed, lowering himself back down on the mattress and closing his eyes so he couldn't peek at Light's undressing.

Light quickly replaced his pajama bottom with his school uniform pants, checking over his shoulder every few seconds to make sure Lawliet wasn't looking. Knowing his luck – and judging by how weird the boy already seemed – it would not have surprised Light to discover that Lawliet was some kind of pervert.

Thankfully, two small hands still concealed Lawliet's creepy, near-black eyes. Light adjusted the top buttons of his jacket, gazing into the mirror on the other side of his closet door and inspecting for anything irregular about his appearance. His jacket was neat and free of creases, his pants pressed; there was nothing out of place – he looked immaculate as usual.

"**Yagami-kun looks very handsome**," Lawliet commented from his position on the bed.

Light whirled around, glaring as he found the other boy staring unabashed. "**I didn't tell you to open your eyes yet**," he pointed out.

Lawliet shrugged, moving once again to sit up straight, pressing his back against the headboard. "**I'm sorry...** **I just figured Yagami-kun would be finished**."

Light didn't say anything. Lawliet hadn't caught him in a state of undress, so it wasn't as if he could use that excuse to yell at him.

"Light, breakfast is on the table!" Light could hear Sayu yelling from downstairs.

"I'll be down in a minute!" he yelled back.

Out of the corner of his eye, Light saw Lawliet shuffle out from underneath the blankets and lower himself to the floor. He figured he should stay in the room a little longer, until Lawliet was ready to go downstairs – Lawliet didn't really know his way around the house yet – but if he waited too long, he'd have to rush through his breakfast in order to leave for school on time.

The bottom drawer of the bureau slid open, a pale hand darting inside to retrieve a plain white shirt. Light made an annoyed sound in the back of his throat after taking a quick glance at the digital clock on his nightstand, straightened his jacket a final time, and exited the bedroom without another word.

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_I didn't know anything about him.  
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Sayu was already at the table when he reached the kitchen, sitting in her usual chair on the left across from her mother. She smiled at her older brother in greeting, her brown eyes brighter than normal for this hour of the morning. Upon realizing that his sister's gaze was actually focused _behind_ him and not on him directly, Light easily came to the conclusion that she was not actually happy to see _him_. The way she deflated slightly when no one else entered the kitchen behind Light only served as further evidence that she was waiting to see Lawliet.

Rolling his eyes, Light took his seat at the table, picking up his chopsticks silently.

Sachiko shifted her gaze from the doorway to her son. "Is Lawliet-kun still asleep?" she wondered.

Light shook his head. "No, he's getting dressed," he replied softly before taking a bite of rice.

Sachiko nodded her head. She looked as if she wanted to ask more questions, but she didn't say anything else, only continued to eat her breakfast. Sayu began chattering excitedly about the small holiday recital her elementary school choir was putting together. She was going to be auditioning to sing solo, and couldn't stop talking about how nervous and excited she was.

Sachiko smiled warmly. "The auditions are today, aren't they?" When Sayu nodded enthusiastically, she turned to Light, suggesting that he participate in the middle school's recital. Light merely shrugged his shoulders – music was one thing he did not have a great interest in. "Well, even if you don't, would you please stay at school until your sister is finished with her auditions? I don't want her having to wait by herself for the bus."

"Of course, Mom."

"Good morning..."

All eyes went to the kitchen doorway where Lawliet stood, dressed in a plain white long-sleeved shirt, jean overalls, and his scarf. Sayu's smile returned full-force as she waved excitedly to him.

"Good morning, Lawliet-kun! Did you sleep well? My brother didn't bother you at all, did he?" she said, ignoring the glare Light sent her.

Lawliet's head inclined in a slight nod. "Yagami-kun was very friendly," he assured her after a moment, his voice as toneless as it had been earlier that morning.

Sachiko stood from the table, offering the young boy her seat, which he took with a small-voiced "thanks".

"Let me get you some breakfast."

Lawliet's blank gray eyes stared down at the table. Light watched him for a minute or so, waiting to see if he would blink. He didn't, not even once. Light shivered, once again feeling unnervedby his presence.

"Here you are," Sachiko announced, setting a bowl of miso soup and a cup of rice before Lawliet. "Would you like something to drink? Some tea, perhaps?"

Lawliet frowned, gazing into the bowl of soup. "Is there sugar?" he asked.

Sachiko blinked twice. "Sugar? Yes, of course."

"Tea is fine, thank you."

She nodded and walked over to the stove, setting a kettle on top of it after filling it with water. While waiting for the water to boil, she brought a container of sugar cubes to the table, eyes widening a fraction as Lawliet wasted no time in plucking up a cube, pushing his scarf to the side slightly, and popping it into his mouth. Sayu and Light also appeared shocked by the action – their mother never let them eat sugar from the jar.

Sayu licked her lips and leaned forward slightly, her bowl of miso long forgotten. "Mom, can I...?"

"Finish your breakfast," Sachiko interrupted. She couldn't very well tell Lawliet not to eat the raw sugar; he wasn't her son to parent. But she could keep her own children from following the bad example.

Sayu pouted and crossed his arms over her chest, mumbling about how unfair her mother was. Across the table, she noticed another sugar cube disappear into Lawliet's hidden mouth. Halfheartedly she began to pick at her food again.

"You know," Light said, "you shouldn't eat so much sugar, especially since it's raw."

Lawliet raised his charcoal eyes a fraction in order to give Light a blank look. After a moment, he tilted his head to the side, frowning as he did so, and reached for another sugar cube.

Light's eyes narrowed ever so slightly. There was the possibility that Lawliet didn't understand what he was saying, but Light seriously doubted it. Lawliet comprehended perfectly well, even if he pretended otherwise. There was a challenging glint in Lawliet's chilling eyes – an unspoken rebuttal of _what are you going to do about it_?

What an annoyance. Light honestly didn't see what his mother thought was so special about the boy – or why she'd adopted him for the holidays in the first place. Maybe she just pitied him for being such a freak – he was really weird, probably really ugly, too, underneath that thick scarf.

That scarf... Not for the first time, Light contemplated what sort of monstrosity it could be hiding, He wondered if Lawliet was hideously deformed; it wouldn't surprise him, given how freakish the boy was to begin with. So perhaps he had a disgusting face to match his disgusting personality and his disgusting, scary, _staring_ eyes.

He watched as Lawliet withdrew yet another sugar cube from the bowl and raised it to the rim of the scarf. With a slight shift of material, the cube disappeared from view.

Light finished the last of his breakfast and stood briskly from the table, having had his fill of Lawliet's presence for the morning. "Let's go, Sayu."

Sayu tilted her head to the side. "What, already?" she complained. "The bus doesn't arrive for another twenty minutes!"

"And you take more than half of that time to reach the bus stop with your crutches," Light countered. "Let's go, I don't want to be late."

Sayu smiled. "My big brother is such a goody-goody," she informed Lawliet, who said nothing in response.

Light flushed. "I am not – I just don't want a detention for being tardy. So come on."

Sayu eventually nodded her consent. "Fine, fine."

Light fetched her crutches, handing them to her as she slowly raised herself to her feet. "I'll get your backpack," he offered, just as he did every morning, before disappearing into the hallway to find her book bag.

The beige bag was leaning against the bottom step of the stairwell. He picked it up with ease and then returned to the kitchen to drag Sayu away.

Sayu hobbled out of the kitchen on her crutches, casting glances over her shoulder every few seconds. As she reached the archway, she waved enthusiastically and bid both her mother and Lawliet farewell. "Bye, Mom! Bye, Lawliet – we can play later, when I get home – bye!"

Lawliet waved awkwardly to her before turning back to the sugar jar and the hot cup of tea that Sachiko had just finished pouring for him.

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_All I knew was that I wanted him gone,  
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"_Liiiiiight_!"

Light grit his teeth at the shrill voice that pierced through the otherwise quiet air of the school courtyard. A pretty, blonde-haired girl waved at him from the doorway, a radiant smile painted on her face as she jogged over to where he sat, her pigtails bouncing up and down with each of her steps.

When she was right in front of him, she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around his neck.He grunted in response and, after several seconds passed by, he shoved her away.

"Hello, Misa-chan," he said, knowing he would get no peace now that she had found him.

Amane Misa was a sweet girl. Cute, with a bubbly, optimistic personality and the ability to talk to just about anyone she came across. But Light was not overly fond of her. She was nice, yes, and she seemed to genuinely care about him – and sometimes she could even be pretty cool to hang out with, since her parents were extremely rich and always bought her the latest games and gadgets – but she was also extremely clingy, and Light was a boy who greatly valued personal space.

Needless to say, that precious space was almost always invaded whenever Misa was around – what with the way she always had to hug him, or clutch his arm, or sit with their legs just barely touching.

No matter how much this got on his nerves, though, Light could never bring himself to tell her to get lost. He wanted to – God, sometimes he just wanted to scream at her to get the hell away from him – but for whatever reason, he could never bring himself to be mean to a girl, even if she did seriously annoy him. Light supposed he was just too nice of a person – he had too big of a heart.

Situating herself comfortably beside him, Misa took the opportunity to study his face. Her lips twitched downwards a fraction. "Light-kun looks so upset... Did something happen?" she wondered aloud.

Light shrugged his shoulders in response. "Just a problem at home," he replied, which confused Misa even more.

"Problem at home?" Misa repeated, "but Light-kun has always gotten along with his parents and his sister. How can there suddenly be a problem?"

"There's a boy," Light told her.

"...A boy?"

Light nodded in affirmation. "He's an orphan, and my mother is letting him stay with us for the rest of the month. You know, those stupid 'adopt an orphan for Christmas' programs."

Misa wrinkled her nose in distaste. "She's letting a random stranger in your house? And he's an orphan... he must be so dirty and gross."

"You don't even know," Light said, picturing Lawliet's wild black hair and hollow eyes, and his long, badly-bitten fingers. "He gives me the creeps... he barely looks human. And I have to share my room with him."

Misa appeared even more horrified by the idea than Light had been when his mother first suggested it to him. "My poor Light! Misa feels so sorry! But Misa knows that Light can put up with him, if he's only going to be there for a month." She bit down on her lower lip thoughtfully as she noticed his skeptical look. "Or... is he really bad? Is he mean to Light-kun?"

Light shook his head. "He's just... _weird_. There must be something wrong with him, he's just so..." Light was going to say something along the lines of 'dumb', but then he recalled his mother telling him that Lawliet was supposedly exceptionally intelligent. Light himself didn't know if it was true or not yet, so he didn't feel it was right of him to dismiss the possibility of Lawliet being a genius (even if he wanted to believe Lawliet was just as stupid as his blank-faced stare suggested).

"He's just weird," Light settled on repeating. "I can't really explain it better than that."

Misa pursed her lips. "Well... he's an orphan, you said, right? So... maybe he just doesn't know how to act normal? Maybe he's weird because he just doesn't know how to act around other people."

"Could be," Light agreed.

Hesitantly, as if unsure about her own idea, Misa suggested, "maybe Light-kun can try to make him more normal?" Upon receiving a questioning stare, she elaborated. "It might make staying with him bearable, if Light-kun was to teach him how to act... not so weird."

"And how would I teach him that?" Light wanted to know, rolling his eyes at the outrageous proposal.

Misa's blue eyes fell to the ground, gazing pensively down at the snow-covered grass. "I don't know... maybe Light-kun can bring him to school? I'm sure the teachers wouldn't mind, as long as Light-kun filled out the form and stuff for him ahead of time. It might be a good way to get him to act normally, if he sees the way all the other kids at school act."

It could work, but Light didn't want an embarrassment like Lawliet following him around all day. What would the other kids think, if he came to school with a freak like Lawliet? They'd probably make the mistake of believing that Light was _friends_ with him – and then they'd think that Light was a freak as well! Light didn't want his perfect reputation being tarnished.

Besides, one day of being immersed in a normal school setting wouldn't be enough to change Lawliet. It would take a lot more time than that. The only thing that would be accomplished by bringing Lawliet to school would be giving the upperclassmen bullies a new target.

Light's amber eyes widened.

"Misa-chan," he gasped, a grin forming on his face, "you're a genius."

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_and that I had just the plan to get rid of him.  
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_Lawli: Light's such a scheming prick. I just want to hit him in the face sometimes. _

_Please tell me your thoughts on the chapter! Reviews and constructive criticism are always loved and appreciated!_


	5. Chapter 4

_Lawli: I'm finally updating! Sorry for the long wait. Also sorry that I really didn't have the chance to respond to your reviews last chapter. This chapter I'll make a point to do that. I hope this chapter is worth the wait! Please read, enjoy, and don't forget to review!_

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Chapter Four. 

Chief Investigator Yagami Soichirou glanced upwards as a manila envelope was tossed onto his desk, his tired brown eyes landing on the forms of two of his fellow workers.

"What's this?" he asked, voice tired from pulling yet another all-nighter, as he reached for the envelope and extracted the stack of papers from inside of it. He had an idea of what the documents might proclaim, and so was not entirely surprised to find a report detailing the deaths of three more victims of _accidental_ house fire.

"That makes six in the last eight months, and that's not counting those that sustained critical injuries and died in the hospital," detective Aizawa Shuichi said, scanning the report copy that he held in his own hands. "We're clearly dealing with a highly skilled arson."

They'd suspected it from the beginning; however, none of the task force members had succeeded in drawing up enough information on the victims to link them together. The fires occurred randomly, it seemed, without premeditation.

But Soichirou knew better than to believe that, even if it was what the Deputy Chief told the press. Soichirou had been in the business for too long, he knew better than to think that the cause of these fires was anything but an accomplished arsonist, and he also knew that there had to be motivation. A criminal with motivation almost always evaded capture longer than a criminal without.

Looking again to the papers in his hand, Soichirou began to read aloud, "Nathaniel River, forty-one, Bethany River, thirty-five, and five-year-old son Nate... vacationing in Japan. Native country, England."

"Is it just me, or do the majority of these victims seem to be foreigners," piped up Matsuda Touta, the investigation team's youngest member.

A small mumble of agreement followed the statement, along with the rustling of papers as the proclamation was checked for legitimacy.

"That does seem to be the case. The River family from England, the Penber family from the U.S., and the Jeevas family, also from the U.S… With this alone, anyone would assume that these are hate crimes against foreigners, but..."

Aizawa directed his attention to the Chief at the heavy sigh that followed his words. "What is it, Chief?"

"It doesn't make sense," Soichirou said, shaking his head negatively and returning the documents to the manila envelope. "If the culprit's motivation is related to a racial issue, why would he also go after Japanese citizens? This isn't a hate crime. It's something else; it has to be..."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
_Initially, he struck me as unreachable...  
_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After breakfast, Lawliet cleared his plate from the table and monotonously thanked Sachiko for the food before wordlessly excusing himself with a slight bow and disappearing up the stairwell.

Sachiko was shocked and worried upon discovering the bowl of miso soup completely untouched, and only several bites' worth missing from the rice. All she'd seen him eat was a handful of sugar cubes. Even his teacup remained half full. It couldn't be healthy for him, to eat so very little. He was a growing boy, after all; he needed more than sugar and a few sips of green tea in his system.

She washed the dishes left behind by Light, Sayu, and Lawliet, setting them in the strainer to dry once she was finished. After wiping her hands on the front of her apron, she exited the kitchen, making her way to the base of the stairwell. She ascended the steps, immediately noticing the open door to her son's bedroom at the end of the hallway.

"Lawliet-kun?" she called, smiling as she reached the doorway.

He was lying on the bed, legs curled up to his chest, and staring blankly at the space right in front of him. He didn't even blink as Sachiko entered the room and addressed him.

"Is there anything you wanted to do today?" she asked, figuring she could take him to the park or the store if he desired to go out. It had to be boring for him, to be stuck alone in the house with no one his own age to keep him company. Sachiko wished Light didn't have to go to school that day.

Lawliet didn't answer her right away. His eyes flickered upwards for a split second, locking with hers for the briefest of moments before dropping again as he shook his head.

Pursing her lips, Sachiko tried to think of something they could do to pass the time until her children returned home. There was not much that could be done, really, but Sachiko was determined to get him up and out of bed.

She'd known when she agreed to adopt Lawliet for the holidays that it would be a difficult task to get him to communicate – Roger assured her that she would find herself feeling frustrated and helpless thanks to Lawliet's stubborn unwillingness to socialize with others. But she refused to give up. Lawliet was a little boy, and even though he had experienced trauma the likes of with no child should ever have to, there still had to be things that made him happy – things that made him smile, and even laugh; Sachiko was determined to find out what those were, and if she couldn't succeed she knew her children most likely could.

"Would you like to help me decorate the house?" she asked him.

It probably wasn't a good idea. Decorating for Christmas was probably something Lawliet was accustomed to doing with his family. The last thing Sachiko wanted at the moment was to stir up unwanted memories in Lawliet's mind, but... she couldn't really think of anything else to suggest.

"I still need to finish the tree," she explained, meeting his blank stare.

Lawliet still refused to speak. Sachiko quickly became uncomfortable under his penetrating gaze and so was forced to look away; however, she refused to leave the room without him. It was not healthy for him to stay locked in the room by himself, even if it seemed as if he wanted to be alone.

"... Yes."

The word was spoken so softly that Sachiko almost missed it, especially due to the fact that the ever-present scarf around Lawliet's neck tended to muffle his already quiet voice.

Lawliet nodded his head and brought himself to his feet. His hands found their way into the pockets of his overalls and he once more locked his gaze on hers, waiting expectantly for her to lead the way to the tree that needed decorating. She began to walk, and he followed, his bare feet shuffling against the floorboards as he moved.

They descended the stairs together and turned right, entering the living room.

It was a nicely sized room, furnished with a cream-colored sofa, a brown leather recliner, one low glass coffee table, and a decent television set; nothing spectacular, just comfortable. In the upper right-hand corner of the room was an Evergreen tree that stood roughly five and a half feet tall, decorated only by a few strings of multicolored lights and a strand of white garland.

Sachiko disappeared from the living room with promises to return momentarily. When she returned she carried two green boxes in her hands, which she set before the tree. "The ornaments are in here," she explained, getting down on her knees to open the box nearest to her. "You can begin unloading ornaments from that box," she instructed, pointing to the second box she'd brought in.

Lawliet nodded his head and did as told. He squatted down in front of the box and removed the lid, peering inside with what appeared to be interest in his dark gray eyes. Sachiko watched him as he removed the ornaments individually from their unique cases, holding them up between his thumb and index finger and inspecting them curiously.

"Be careful with those," Sachiko said, out of fear that Lawliet might suddenly turn clumsy and break one. Lawliet removed another from its case. "They're very special."

Lawliet tilted his head to the side, bringing the ornament closer so that it touched his nose and he was forced to stare cross-eyed at it. "**Light's first Christmas**," he translated the text written at the base of the cute, teddy bear-shaped ornament. He handed it to Sachiko, unsure of what to do with it next, now that he'd opened it.

Sachiko smiled; her brown eyes focused more on her son's first ornament than on Lawliet. "You can find a nice place for it," she said as she removed a maroon bulb from the box of six that lay beside her. "I'll start working on these."

The ornament continued to dangle helplessly from Lawliet's fingers, and he stared up at Sachiko, his eyes growing wide before quickly darting to the tree.

Sachiko carried the box of bulbs with her to the tree, placing one after another on the full green branches, wherever she deemed appropriate.

"Is something wrong, Lawliet-kun?" she inquired upon turning around and seeing that he hadn't even moved during the time she'd had her back turned. Light's ornament was still clutched firmly between his fingers, the knuckles of which had become white.

"...I..." Lawliet paused, charcoal eyes averting to the floor, "I have never decorated a tree," he admitted, and then thrust his hand out towards her, offering Light's ornament.

Sachiko blinked, not having expected to hear that. She presumed, since Lawliet was from the United States, that he celebrated Christmas. "Oh," she said, looking at the tree and then back at the young boy. "I just assumed..."

Lawliet shook his head. "We never had time," he interrupted her. "Only once... when I was five, Mama didn't have her job back. The tree was pretty; I wasn't allowed to touch it."

He didn't start crying after mentioning his parents this time around, something Sachiko was grateful for. The sight broke her heart, filled her with as much grief as hearing or seeing one of her own children cry. However, she could detect the slight mist in his eyes, but he wiped the moisture away quickly before once again offering her the ornament in his hands.

Sachiko gestured to the tree. "I want you to find a place for it," she insisted. "In this family, everyone is allowed to help."

Lawliet took two steps towards the tree before stopping and turning his head to the side to face her. "Why does Yagami-san not do this with her own family?" he wanted to know.

The multicolored tree lights reflected in Lawliet's mirror-like eyes, playing tricks by seemingly turning them different colors. Sachiko sighed, thinking of her husband who has always too preoccupied with work (not that she could ever blame him), and of her own children and their unwillingness to participate in decorating, which seemed to intensify with each passing year.

"...Because _they _are too busy."

Lawliet hesitated briefly, and then hung the ornament on one of the tree's center branches. She could tell by the glimmer in his eyes that, underneath the heavy scarf, he was smiling.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
_And then he surprised me.  
_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Light returned home from school that evening, the fist sound that greeted him was laughter. It was an unfamiliar sound. Light was accustomed to hearing people laugh, of course – his mother and father laughed (mostly his mother; his father's job turned him into the more somber parent over the years), Sayu was always giggling, and even Light (serious as he was for a twelve-year-old) laughed quite a bit – so the sound itself was very familiar. The person it was coming from, on the other hand, was an entirely different story.

Lawliet.

The boy had only been living with them for a single day, but after the time that Light spent in his presence, he'd automatically pinned him as a social misfit who didn't possess the capability to laugh. Lawliet was too reserved, too disturbed, and too weird to be able to do something so... _normal_. Light hadn't even believed it was possible for Lawliet to feel happiness (to feel anything at all, really; his eyes were always so frighteningly blank).

Yet there he sat, crouched before the now fully decorated Christmas tree in the living room, sniggering away as he stared at an object that Light could not distinguish from his vantage point. Beside him stood Light's mother, smiling in that affectionate manner that she normally reserved for her children alone, holding a plate of the cookies she'd baked the previous afternoon. Lawliet munched on one of them, and the low, stupid sound of his laughter continued as his amusement refused to die.

"I'm home," Light announced.

The laughter stopped. Lawliet craned his neck to look at him, the same emotionless expression Light remembered tattooed on his half-concealed face.

"Light, welcome home," Sachiko greeted, setting the plate down and moving over to her son to embrace him. "How was your day? Where is your sister?"

"She's in the bathroom," Light answered once his mother released her hold on him.

Lawliet took another cookie from the plate, continuing to watch Light without speaking to him.

Sachiko questioned Light once more about his day, and Light sighed begrudgingly and explained that his classes were boring, as usual, but that he enjoyed playing tennis in Physical Education. She looked as if she were about to ask more questions, but at that moment, Sayu hobbled into the room, stating that she was hungry.

"I'll make you a snack," Sachiko said before leading her daughter into the kitchen.

A thick silence settled between the remaining occupants of the room, neither Lawliet nor Light willing to be the first to break it. A staring contest of sorts began, and the two boys gazed intently at one another for an unknown amount of time, both unwilling to surrender.

Eventually, the corner of Light's eyes began to sting and he was forced to blink in order to hydrate them. He looked to the ground, embarrassed by his own defeat – and even for taking part in the childish act to begin with.

Lawliet reached for another cookie. The plate was now empty.

"...** The tree looks nice**," Light finally said, knowing that he would eventually have to start a conversation since it would apparently take Lawliet eons to do so himself.

Half of the Santa-shaped cookie disappeared with a single _crunch_. Lawliet chewed noisily, nodding his head in agreement. "**Yes.**"

One-word answers... they seemed to be the only type of responses Light could get out of the other boy. And that just wouldn't do – not if he wanted to achieve his goal. No, he needed Lawliet to like him – to trust him, even. But he wouldn't get anywhere if Lawliet brushed him off with simple 'yes' and 'no' responses.

He needed to switch tactics. Acting competitively with Lawliet was obviously out of the question. It would take far too long if things continued in this manner, and Light just didn't have the patience to deal with that; if he wanted Lawliet out of the picture, he needed to do something about it quickly.

Light raised a hand up and scratched the back of his neck in a way that appeared shy before taking several steps towards the other boy. "**Um... Listen, I think we got off on the wrong foot,**" he admitted in a sheepish voice.

Lawliet's charcoal eyes swiveled upwards, catching his own. Light felt his heart flutter nervously in his chest and he licked his lips, willing himself not to break character.

"**The wrong foot**," Lawliet repeated, puzzled to hear this. "**I do not understand.**"

"**I've been...rude,**" Light said.

Lawliet shook his head as a means of negating the claim. "**Light-kun has been very polite**," he assured.

Light grit his teeth at the usage of his first name, but he did not snap at him this time around. "**Yes, well... I guess so, but I haven't been very... nice... to you. As nice as I should have been, at least,**" he explained, withholding the urge to make a face.. "**I just didn't know what to think about you staying with us. I was confused, and a little bit angry... I wish my mom told me about it beforehand.**"

"**Yes,**" Lawliet agreed, averting his gaze to the floor. His wiggled his bare toes. "**I would most likely react in the same way, if I was in Light-kun's position**."

"**So... can we start over?**" Light asked. He hoped Lawliet didn't see right through him

Lawliet finished off the last of the cookie he held, holding his hand in front of his face and staring at it forlornly as he chewed, disappointed that the last of his treat was now gone. After swallowing, he said, "**I guess.**"

Light forced a bright smile onto his face. "**Great!**"

Lawliet nodded at the exclamation, though he did not appear to share Light's enthusiasm. He shifted his scarf up just enough to fit his fingers underneath so he could suck the crumbs off of them. "**Does this mean Light-kun and I are friends?**" he wondered aloud, voice toneless and muffled.

Light was taken aback by the question, but his expression remained neutral as he caught Lawliet's gaze once more. He offered one of his kindest smiles – the ones he reserved for those he disliked most, so that they wouldn't even dream that he felt anything ill towards them. "**Yeah, of course**."

A humming noise resounded from the back of Lawliet's throat. "**How exciting,**" he said, scratching his left foot against the right. "**I've never had a friend before.**"

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_He was easier to reach than anyone else I'd ever known.  
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* * *

_Lawli: And the plot thickens... sort of. I love writing L for this fic, I just keep picturing him in my head and he's so freaking adorable in his little overalls. -giggle- I enjoy writing Light too, 'cause he's just such a loveable prick._

_Anyways. Please review and tell me your thoughts on the chapter! I look forward to hearing your feedback, and remember that constructive criticism is always welcome and appreciated!_


	6. Chapter 5

_Lawli: I really have no excuse for how late this chapter is... I simply just lost inspiration for a while since I had so much other stuff going on. D: But thankfully I've managed to get inspired again (and just at the right time, too. Tomorrow marks the end of my summer Statistics class - which I somehow managed to pass with a B! - and the official 'beginning' of my summer vacation! _

_This chapter was originally going to be longer (I was aiming for eight pages and it only came out six) but I liked the way it ended... I thought continuing it any longer would have been for the worst, since I think I was already starting to get a little repetative toward the end._

_Anyways! You've waited long enough, I think. But I just want to say one last thing: Thanks SO MUCH to everyone who's reviewed so far. I mean, wow, seriously. I never expected this story to reach 100 reviews so soon (well, I never expected it to reach 100 reviews at all, to be honest..) _

_So THANKS SO MUCH! 8D -Hugs, kisses, and Lawliet plushies for everyone!!_

_Please read, enjoy, and don't forget to leave a review to let me know what you think!! _

* * *

**Chapter Five.**

Sachiko smiled proudly as the two boys descended the stairs, one after the other, dressed in an identical uniform of navy blue pants, pressed white dress shirts, and matching navy jackets. As usual, Light's jacket was buttoned perfectly all the way up to his neck. Lawliet, on the other hand, wore his jacket with some of the buttons clasped in improper holes, giving it a lopsided appearance. Whether this was intentional or not was unknown, but irregardless Sachiko kneeled down in front of the young boy and fixed it for him.

"Breakfast is on the table," she told them once she'd finished with the task and Lawliet's jacket was in the same pristine condition as Light's. "Hurry up and eat now; it's already running late."

The two boys followed her into the kitchen wordlessly, taking their designated seats at the table. Sayu was already there, half finished with the bowl of miso soup in front of her.

Just as the previous morning, Lawliet opted to consume only highly sweetened tea in place of a well-balanced breakfast. He did take several bites of rice, but only after he'd been given permission to drizzle honey on top of it.

"That's gross," Sayu commented, wrinkling her nose as she watched Lawliet (who was unable to use chopsticks due to the awkward manner in which he held things) spooned a small bit of honeyed rice into his mouth.

Lawliet merely blinked at her, tilting his head to the side before holding the bowl out in invitation for her to try it. "It's not bad," he said in his whisper-voice.

Sayu quickly shook her head. "No," she quickly declined, adding, "thank you," as an after thought a few moments later so she wouldn't come across as rude in front of their guest. He took another spoonful before pushing the bowl aside and moving on to his tea, adding two more sugar cubes to it and watching them dissolve. Sayu leaned forward, resting her elbows on the tabletop. "So... why do you only eat sweet things, Lawliet-kun?" she had to wonder.

The black-haired boy readjusted his scarf after taking a sip of his tea. He didn't answer her.

Sayu, never one to be discouraged so easily, tried again. "Lawliet-kun? I asked why –"

"Sayu," Light, who had been watching the conversation between the pair, interrupted.

Sayu looked over at him questioningly. Light made a zipping motion across his lips with his thumb and pointer finger and his sister's dark brown eyes grew slightly larger before darting back in Lawliet's direction. The boy was staring down at his tea, his round gray-black eyes dimmer than she'd ever seen them.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, hanging her head.

An uncomfortably silence settled between the children, which Light decided to break after five excruciating minutes had ticked by.

"We should get going."

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_Why..?  
_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The bus was crowded, something Light was used to but that seemed to make Lawliet terribly ill at ease. The dark-haired boy fidgeted in his seat, playing with the buttons of his jacket – clasping and unclasping the top two over and over as if he was indecisive of whether or not to expose the white shirt underneath. He ended up leaving them closed and moving on to altering the position of his scarf to his liking, making absolutely certain that at no point it fell any lower than just below his nostrils.

Light ignored him, choosing to stare out the window. Lawliet didn't try to talk to him and Light was silently grateful for this, as he didn't want people to see them socializing and get the wrong idea.

On the third stop of the bus's route, Misa boarded the vehicle and automatically came straight to where Light sat. A mixture of disappointment and irritation crossed her features when she noticed the spot next to him was already taken.

"_Ehh_?!" she whined. "Who's this in Misa's seat?"

Lawliet slowly raised his eyes to meet hers. He stared at her blankly and then thrust out his hand, causing Misa to jump back as if to dodge a sudden attack. Leaning his head curiously to the side, Lawliet spoke softly.

"**Shake**."

Misa looked confused. "**Sh-shak-u**?" she tried to repeat.

"His hand," Light clarified. "He wants you to shake his hand."

After glancing uncertainly between the two boys, Misa gingerly offered up her right hand, grasping Lawliet's as loosely as possible and shaking it once before quickly letting go.

"Lawliet."

Misa paused in wiping her hand off on her skirt and made a face at hearing yet another foreign word. "What do you want now?" She sighed in exasperation when the black-haired boy said nothing further. "You're not from around here, huh?" Turning to face Light, she asked, "What's the deal with him?"

Light crossed his arms over his chest. "He's the one that's staying with me," he informed.

Misa gasped loudly, her hand flying over her mouth. "No way! _Really_?" She looked at Lawliet again, studying the little bit of his face that wasn't hidden by the scarf and his long bangs. "He is weird," she agreed with Light's words from the other day. Lawliet stared back at her, seemingly unaware of what was being said about him – though Light figured that wasn't the case. "Amane Misa," she finally introduced herself, pointing at her chest. "Misa is Light-kun's girlfriend!"

Lawliet's eyes widened. "Girlfriend?" he turned his head to the side to face Light. There were several beats of silence in which both Light and Misa pondered whether or not he knew what the term meant, before he spoke again. "Light-kun is very lucky. Misa-chan is so pretty!"

Hearing him speak in Japanese (heavily accented as it was) caused Misa to flush slightly in obvious embarrassment of saying something rude about him before while under the impression that he couldn't understand what she was saying. Any expression of guilt was wiped away, however, as Lawliet's words sunk in.

"Sh-she's not my –" Light began, only to be interrupted by Misa squealing in delight.

"Oh, do you really think so?" she asked, seeming to have already forgotten that just seconds ago she'd been calling Lawliet weird. Lawliet nodded once and Misa clapped her hands together. "You're sweet, Lawli-kun!"

Light rolled his eyes and glared back out the window. Misa continued chattering loudly with Lawliet, most likely uncaring whether or not the boy understood the half of what she was saying, until the last of the passengers boarded and the bus began to move.

"Misa has to go sit now. If you ride the bus tomorrow morning, don't take Misa's seat, please, Lawli-kun!"

She waved and departed to a free seat next to another girl who attended their school. Light sighed in contentment, glad to be rid of her for the time being.

"**Misa is cute..."** Lawliet said quietly a while after said girl left.

"Hn," was all Light had to say to that.

Lawliet faced Light, his creepy black eyes slightly wider than before. **"Light-kun... doesn't think so?"**

Light frowned, hating that Lawliet was insisting on striking up a conversation. He'd hoped his vague answer to the first question would give Lawliet the hint that he wasn't interested in talking with him. **"It's not that,"** he said after a small bout of silence.** "It's just... she's kind of annoying. She's always been really clingy."**

The corners of Lawliet's eyes crinkled. Light guessed he was smiling underneath his scarf. **"She likes you, Light-kun,"** he pointed out, as though it wasn't totally obvious.

"**Yeah, I know..."**

His voice trailed off.

Lawliet tapped his fingers against his knees. **"But Light-kun does not feel the same way," **he finished the statement.

Light didn't like the tone of Lawliet's voice. It was monotonous as usual, yet... there was something about it that made him feel ashamed of himself – as though it was something to feel guilty about, not returning Misa's affections – which was just plain ridiculous. Light didn't feel guilty about things like that – _shouldn't_, had no reason to feel guilty. After all, he was only twelve years old. He didn't want anything to do with girls in... in _that_ way.

"**So what?" **he eventually countered. **"Do **_**you**_** like her?"**

To Light's complete surprise, Lawliet's cheeks reddened. Amber eyes widened a fractioned, Light cracking a smile at this new development.

"**She... she's cute,"** Lawliet answered slowly.

Who would have thought Lawliet would actually get a crush on Amane Misa? Light found it laughable, the mere idea of Lawliet liking any girl – that kind of thing, having a crush on someone, was just so _normal_... Light had never expected Lawliet to do anything normal.

"**You two would look good together,"** he joked, smirking, trying not to laugh.

The blush on Lawliet's face darkened, spreading to the tips of his ears. He played nervously with the frays at the end of his scarf. **"Light-kun shouldn't tease," **he said softly.

Light's smirk intensified. **"What? I'm being serious."**

Emotionless charcoal eyes met Light's own, large and blank as ever, though tinged with sadness (a sadness similar to what Light had seen that morning at breakfast, when Sayu mentioned how Lawliet only consumed sweets). Light's expression faltered. Lawliet stared at him for almost a full minute, not saying anything, before looking away and shaking his head. Gradually, the blush subsided.

The remainder of the bus ride was spent in silence, with Lawliet facing straight ahead and Light reverting his gaze back to the window.

He told himself he didn't feel guilty.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
_Why is he so sad?  
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The school day went by in a most uneventful manner, Light's classes passing at an exceptionally slow pace since, at the beginning of each one he was forced to introduce Lawliet and wait for the introverted boy to say a few things about himself. Always when this happened, Lawliet would stand at the front of the room, looking anxious with his fingers twitching at his sides while his eyes darted towards Light in a silent plea for help.

Light would return the stare evenly, saying nothing – not out of the desire to be rude, but mainly because he honestly didn't know what to say for the other boy; he didn't know anything about Lawliet that he could tell the class, nor did he care to learn anything about him.

"_He's kind of strange."_

"_Why's he wearing a scarf inside?"_

"_I dunno... he's sort of cute, in an odd way."_

"_**U-umm…"**_ Lawliet would stutter, appearing more than a little uneasy under the scrutinizing and judgmental stares of the other students. "My name is Lawliet. I don't know much Japanese, I'm sorry."

The kids would snicker at his accent. Light glared at them, while placing his head in the palm of his hand to cover his mouth and thus hide the fact that he was doing the same.

At this point, the teacher would rescue the poor boy by politely ushering him to an available seat, before starting the day's lesson.

Lawliet was yelled at in both Light's mathematics and literature classes for sitting with his feet up on the seat, causing the other students – Light included – to laugh openly and Lawliet to attempt to sink into his chair.

During the lunch hour, Lawliet crouched beside Light underneath the tall tree Light and Misa favored. Misa was prattling on about how Takuo Miyako, the self-proclaimed class rebel, caused a huge disturbance in her science class by burning his uniform tie.

Light didn't pay much attention to her story, caring little about the idiotic nature of his peers, until he noticed Lawliet's reaction to the story. The boy was trembling slightly, holding his hands in front of his scarf where his mouth would be. His eyes shook in their sockets, and Light could have sworn he was saying something – though whatever it was, it wasn't loud or coherent enough for him to decipher.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
_What _happened_ to this boy?  
_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

* * *

_Lawli: Oh, why oh why do I make Lawliet such an angsty child? lol_

_That's all for this chapter! The next will (hopefully) be out soon!_

_In other random news... METROCON is in one week!! I'm so effing excited!_


	7. Chapter 6

_Lawli: ...Um, sorry for the delay?? -dodges random flying objects-_

_Just a reminder:__  
"**text**" is spoken in English.  
"text" is spoken in Japanese._

**

* * *

Chapter Six.**

"What's with you?" Light asked, frowning, appearing almost troubled by the stricken look on Lawliet's face.

Lawliet didn't say anything and Light had to wonder if he was even _there_, mentally. The far-off look in his grey eyes suggested he wasn't.

"L-Lawli-kun?" Misa said, tentatively reaching to touch his shoulder but pausing just before doing so, pursing her lips and deciding against the action as she lowered her hand back down to her side.

Still Lawliet refused to respond to their attempts at catching his attention. Impatient, Light sighed and completed the motion Misa had been too hesitant to go through with.

Lawliet jumped at the touch, his already large eyes bulging and a startled cry of "no!" escaping his lips. Realizing his mistake Light withdrew immediately, watching as the boy curled himself into a protective ball, his chest heaving as though he'd just run a marathon.

Not for the first time Light wondered, _what the hell is wrong with this kid?_

"Lawli-kun?" Misa tried again, and the genuine worry in her voice almost made Light smirk.

"I... I'm sorry," was the quiet reply.

Misa shook her head, assuring Lawliet that everything was okay and that there was no need for him to be apologizing. "Are you all right, Lawli-kun?"

Lawliet slowly nodded his head, looking over at her from underneath his dark bangs. Light could still see the fear causing him to shake, and tried to think back on their conversation to figure out what might have triggered the strange response from the other boy.

Now that Lawliet had apparently returned to normal, Misa moved on to other topics, offering Lawliet some of the sweets from her lunch box as she caught him eyeing them in the middle of her story about a girl named Chiyoko getting a detention for rolling her skirt too high.

Light wasn't paying attention to what Misa was saying, and suspected Lawliet of being guilty of the same thing, for looking at Lawliet out of the corner of his eye showed him as being focused on nothing but jelly-filled _onigiri_. There was a distant expression on his face again, causing Light to try and think of what might be on the other's mind. And as he pondered over this, he also couldn't help but wonder why he was wasting so much of his time thinking about Lawliet at all; he cared very little for the boy, and certainly couldn't care about what might be bothering him. But he was – as young boys tended to be – curious.

And it was that curiosity which prompted him to interrupt Misa.

"So what had you so scared?"

Lawliet blinked, startled by the abrupt change of subject – as apparently was Misa, who did not appreciate being spoken over in the least bit and was presently glaring at Light's head in a way that was far from threatening. Light ignored her for the time being, knowing she'd forgive him within minutes and so seeing no need to apologize or even acknowledge her disapproval.

"Light-kun, I..." Lawliet's voice trailed off.

"**When Misa-chan was telling that story**," Light reminded him in English, in case Lawliet was trying to feign ignorance. "**What made you so scared**?"

Cheeks slowly turning a shameful red, Lawliet lowered his gaze to the ground.

"I don't think he wants to–" Misa started, only to be interrupted yet again – this time by Lawliet.

Light hadn't been expecting an answer, and so when Lawliet did quietly respond to the question he was momentarily taken off guard.

"**Fire**," Lawliet whispered, the very word causing him to tremble slightly. "**I afrai... I don't like it."**

Was that all, _really_?

Light couldn't help but feel disappointed. Lawliet was so strange; it was odd to think of him as having such an ordinary fear.

Light couldn't help but roll his eyes. "**Pyrophobia**," he stated easily, and Misa raised an eyebrow at the unfamiliar word, clearly not thinking that a twelve-year-old should be able to spout complicated English words like that off the top of his head. "**That's a common thing**."

"**I guess**," Lawliet agreed reluctantly.

There was silence, during which Light tried to conjure up other questions he could ask on this matter. Lawliet didn't appear to keen on the idea of treading back into these waters, judging by the way his eyes had taken on that rounded, distant quality, making Light highly doubt that he would be given much more information even if he continued to pry.

So he allowed it when Lawliet hastily changed the subject, though he was surprised by the way in which he did so.

"H-how short was Chiyoko's skirt?"

Misa's eyes widened.

Light hid a grin behind his hand.

And then...

"Lawli-kun is such a _pervert_!"

And Light couldn't stifle it this time.

"P-_pervert_?" Lawliet repeated, face flushing as he ducked away from the playful swat Misa aimed in his direction.

He burst out into laughter. Not long afterwards, once he had realized the error in his words, so did Lawliet.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
_I didn't even realize I was laughing with him...  
_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

By the time his last class of the day rolled around, several of Light's classmates had warmed up to Lawliet. There was Misa, who thought the boy was just _so sweet_, even if he was a bit creepy to look at, and couldn't get enough of teasing him about being a pervert. And there was also another girl, Kyoko –a mousy-looking honor student whom Light didn't even know he shared homeroom with until she approached to ask him about Lawliet – who seemed to take quite a liking to him, though possibly in a more romantic sense than Misa.

Light couldn't understand it. What about Lawliet could possibly be appealing to other people – girls, no less? The boy was interesting, there was no denying that. The scarf that hid half of his face prompted much curiosity for Light, as well as several aspects of the boy's personality (the way he crouched, the way he hunched, the way he spoke, the irrational reaction to just the mention of fire), but there was nothing attractive about the other boy. Certainly he wasn't good-looking, nor was he social, and as far as Light could tell he wasn't exceptionally smart.

He was a freak, plain and simple. Even if Light learned all that he wished to about the boy, Lawliet would still be nothing more than a freak.

"Who would like to solve this problem? Yagami-kun?"

Light raised his head and noticed the equation his math teacher had written on the board.

_11s x 12s^3_

"132s raised to the third power," he answered after several seconds of consideration.

Not too long ago their teacher had introduced them to Algebra, a subject area that was impossibly difficult for his fellow peers. Oftentimes he was called on to answer the questions his professor wrote on the board, something which always left him with a smug sense of pride. He liked being the smartest, enjoyed the praise he would receive when he got the answer right – and he _always_ got the answer right.

"132s raised to the fourth power."

All heads turned to Lawliet, who up until that point had been silent during the lesson (discounting when he told the teacher that he needed to sit with his feet on the chair in order to increase his thinking ability).

Light's eyes narrowed. _Idiot,_ he snorted.

"Correct... Lawliet-kun."

There was a shared silence among his classmates, during which Light gritted his teeth together and sent his professor a nasty look once her back was turned.

"I can't believe Yagami-kun actually got something wrong," a girl sitting near him whispered to her friend, and Light's cheeks reddened in mortification. That was because he never got these sorts of questions wrong! School was one thing he excelled in; no-one was better than Yagami Light when it came to academics, everyone said so.

More than anything, Light hated feeling stupid, and that was exactly how he felt now as he overheard more and more of his peers either congratulating Lawliet on getting the right solution or sniggering about Light getting the wrong one. Placing his elbow on the desk, he gripped a handful of brown hair tightly, glaring with all his might down at the wooden desk.

How dare he? How dare he humiliate Light like that, and in front of all his classmates?!

Several seats away, Lawliet turned his head in Light's direction, and the way his eyes crinkled at the corners suggested he was smiling.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -  
_because that's the sort of things friends do,  
_- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was Misa who found him. On her way back from cheerleading practice she saw him, huddled up next to the air conditioning system behind the gymnasium, and she'd only known it was him because of the telltale cream-colored scarf laying several feet away from his body.

"Lawli-kun!"

Dropping her duffle bag she quickly rushed to his side, kneeling before him and reaching out to take hold of his shoulders and turn him around. He didn't jump when she touched him, which relieved Misa until she discovered that the reason he didn't do so was because he had fallen unconscious.

It wasn't difficult to figure out what had happened. Some bullies must have seen Lawliet when he was alone and, knowing he was a foreigner and (judging by his physical appearance) probably not very strong, figured he would be an easy target.

_What was he doing by himself?_ The thought crossed her mind as she surveyed the damage done to Lawliet's face.

His _face_...

The scarf was gone from his face – discarded and, from the looks of it, completely shredded not even three feet away – leaving it entirely viewable for the first time. All day Misa had been curious as to what the boy could be hiding; really, the most she'd thought was that Lawliet was just shy, and keeping his face hidden was a form of protection.

But...

Her face paled at the mangled skin of his jaw and neck.

Even if she had imagined a disfigurement at some point, it wasn't anywhere near the likes of this.

The sight of it almost made her let go of him, almost made her want to run away and pretend as if she hadn't seen anything. She couldn't help him – she couldn't even look at him like this. It made her feel sick, made her skin crawl unpleasantly. She placed a hand to her mouth (thinking as he did so of Lawliet's cracked and bleeding lips).

No, she had to help him. She couldn't leave him like this.

Swallowing the feelings of repulsion, Misa slowly reached out for the scarf, grasping it and winding the pieces of it around Lawliet's neck. It was bad enough that his face was so bloodied up; Misa didn't want any of her peers seeing the whole of his face.

He wasn't very heavy, but it still took Misa several minutes to figure out how to pick him up and maintain balance while holding him. She walked gingerly with him, afraid of accidentally dropping him should she move too fast.

By this time, there was hardly anyone left on campus. A few dozen students still lingered about, either having just finished with club meetings or team practices like Misa or still waiting for their parents to pick them up, but there were no big crowds of people. This was both a good thing and a bad thing, for Misa didn't really want other people to see Lawliet in this condition, but at the same time she needed to find someone who would be able to help him.

Salvation arrived in the form of Yagami Light, whom Misa spotted exiting the main school building, most likely just having finished tutoring someone or something like that.

"Light-kun!"

He didn't hear her at first and Misa panicked. She couldn't run to him, not with Lawliet in her arms, and she didn't want to scream Light's name and draw attention to herself. Mind reeling, Misa deposited Lawliet gingerly under the nearest tree, propping him up against the trunk and – after checking to make sure he didn't fall over – sprinted off in Light's direction.

"Light-kun," she cried, "Light-kun, wait!"

As she reached his side, she grabbed hold of his arm, not missing the aggravated look that flitted across his handsome face.

"What is it, Misa-chan?" he asked.

Misa pointed in the direction of the tree, explaining hurriedly, "it's Lawliet-kun! He's really hurt, Light-kun, you have to help him!"

Light's amber eyes widened, a rare dumbfounded look on his face which he hastily shook away. "Where is he now?" he asked, and allowed it when Misa grabbed his arm for a second time in order to lead him to Lawliet's resting place.

Lawliet was still unconscious when the two arrived at the tree.

Light proceeded to grill Misa with questions as he knelt beside Lawliet, removing his school jacket and place it around Lawliet. "Where did you find him?"

"Behind the gym," she replied, watching in awe as Light placed a hand to Lawliet's forehead and then his palm. For all his talk about how he didn't like the boy, Light seemed so genuinely concerned. Misa had never seen him act this way with anyone before. "I-I think some upperclassman got to him."

A nod signaled that Light agreed with her. "We need to get him to the infirmary," he told her, moving one of his arms underneath Lawliet's knees and the other around his shoulders. "I'll carry him. You run ahead and tell the nurse what happened."

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_and he's not my friend.  
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* * *

_Lawli: T-T I'm sorry, Lawliet!!_

_Happy Holidays, everyone!! Please give the gift of a review to this poor authoress? ^^_


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